Rum Infused Prawns with Caramelised Onion

I can call this dish rum infused prawns with caramelised onion, which sounds like a name of a dish in a posh restaurant; or it can be called fried prawns with soya sauce (si-chap har or 酱油爆虾), which will then probably not catch your attention, but means same thing, without the glam.

This fish monger in the wet market was trying to sell us these big prawns which he claimed were caught fresh the evening before. I thought I'll stock up for Chinese New Year reunion dinner before the prawn price sky rocketed, so we bought 1Kg.

Back home, I took out six to cook for lunch just to try if it was as fresh as the fish monger claimed. There was a bottle of rum at the pantry which hubs recently bought for me to use for cooking/baking. So I thought, maybe I can try to use the rum on the prawns.

♥Recipe for Rum Infused Prawns with Caramelised Onion (or fried prawns with soya sauce)♥
My own creation

You will need :

6 palm size prawns (size is from head to tail)
1 tsp rum
1 shallot sliced
1 tbs soya sauce
2 tbs oil
Method :

1) Deveined the prawn
2) Heat oil in wok, toss in sliced shallot and fry until, well, caramelised (i.e. soft and slightly brown)
3) Put in the prawns to fry, try to move the shallots to the top of the prawns, so that when the prawns are fried, the shallot does not get burnt. Fry the prawn about 1 minute on each side.
4) Pour in the rum, and stir fry everything in the wok, so that the prawns and shallots are infused in the rum
5) Pour in the soya sauce, and stir again, so that the prawns are evenly seasoned

So the fish monger was right, the prawns were very fresh. Hubs like the hint of rum taste in the prawns, and I like the fragrant of the caramelised onion.

Fried Chicken - Momofuku Style

I love fried chicken, actually, who doesn't? So when I saw the Momofuku Fried Chicken recipe posted by Ellie, my first thought was I had to try it.

We have been doing our fried chicken the same way, i.e. season the chicken with salt and pepper, then fry it. Sometimes, we'll add some tumeric powder, just to give it a 'twist'.

The Momofuku recipe, calls for the chicken to be steamed first, then only fried. This mean, the frying time is reduced, making the chicken more tender and juicy inside.

My photos are not as nice as Ellie's, you should check out how she captured the simple fried chicken dish.

Zaria, my youngest, who's the biggest fan of fried chicken, loved every bit of it.

♥Momofuku Fried Chicken♥
Adapted from Ellie of Almost Bordain, who has adapted the recipe from Momofuku by David Chang and Peter Meehan. My chicken was half of Ellie's portion, so I adjusted the recipe accordingly.

You'll need

2 cups lukewarm water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup sea salt
5 drumsticks
Cooking oil for frying

Method

1) Mix the water, sugar, and salt in a container with a lid and stir until the sugar and salt dissolve.
2) Place the chicken into the the brine, ensuring it's covered by the brine, refrigerate for 1 hour.
3) Drain the chicken and discard the brine.
4) Steam the chicken in medium heat for about 30mins, remove and let it cool on a rack for 1 hr (recipe calls for cooling it in refrigerater on a rack for at least 2 hours or overnight).
5) Heat oil in a wok and fry the chicken until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes.
6) Remove and place on wire mesh or kitchen towel to drain.